Summary:

The 2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio is the first Alfa Romeo SUV ever. Awaited since 2003, it's now finally here. It took all of the great designing cues from the Giulia, like the sleek headlights, air vents and muscular body lines. Its rear is completely different however and overall the crossover ooks more like an oversized hot hatchback.
The interior is also a lot like the Giulia's, with leather, Alcantara and a carbon-fiber dashboard.

The engine can be a fully aluminium 2.0 liter engine, designed specifically for Alfa Romeo. This one is turbocharged and intercooled and delivers 280 horsepower. The other engine is the 505 horsepower 2.9 liter bi-turbo V6 engine, only on the Quadrifoglio. All models get the Q4 All Wheel Drive system with torque vectoring.

In the tech department the car is great, too. Semi-autonomous features and customizable driving settings make this Stelvio a good investment for your future.

This is a vehicle that has been in the making for a long time. In 2003 the first prototype, then named Alfa Romeo Kamal, was first shown to the public. After years of improving and rendering we finally see the finished product in the shape of the 2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio.

Recently, Alfa Romeo did some good business with their release of the new and improved technological and aesthetic masterpiece the 2017 Giulia Quadrifoglio and the masterly automotive creation the 2016 4C Spider sports wagon. Now, they can add their first SUV to the line-up, one that is simply bound for glory. The exterior looks amazing, as does the interior, but the best part about this SUV is the high power engine. The highest trim of the Stelvio, the Quadrifoglio, gets an engine that produces over 500 horsepower. We’re sure the Alfa Romeo public is going to love this one, even more so because they gave their highest trim the Quadrifoglio emblem and title, which stands for Alfa Romeo’s range topping models and racing cars.

Alfa Romeo’s aspiration with the 2018 Stelvio was to make sure the car has all of the great racing car features and driving experience, while turning in none of the comfort an SUV offers. Check the review to see if they succeeded in doing this, more so than the Stelvio’s direct competitor the 2017 Jaguar F-Pace?

Exterior design

This is a car that surprises at first glance and then keeps on growing on you every time you see it. The 2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio takes on many designing cues of the Alfa Romeo Giulia Q. To start with, it adopted the same aggressive front, very suitable for such fast cars. The sleek headlights feature a LED line that makes it look like scowling eyebrows, and fit well into the hood.

Then, of course there is the Alfa Romeo triangular grille with a V-shaped chrome line and the Alfa Romeo logo in the top middle. Underneath there is a large air vent from side to side. On the hood, there are two smaller air intakes.

The side of the Stelvio takes on more designing cues from the Giulia, with the muscular-looking body lines continuing all the way over to the back of the car. The large 18, 19, 20 or 21 inch wheels leave little space until the wheel arches, but simply look just right doing it. Seven different wheel options are available.

The range-topping Quadrifoglio will be embellished with four-leaf clover emblems and black round-spoke wheels. Also, it will feature the same black window frames and black lower side mirrors as seen on the Giulia Q.

The Stelvio rear defines itself by cutting-edge taillights, with a red light LED-strip similar to the headlights. The rest of the rear is actually one of the few things that look fundamentally different from the Giulia. The dark rear window is super steep, thus creating cargo space worthy of an SUV.

The 2018 Stelvio will be available in 13 different exterior colours. The 2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio will be seen as a great competitor of the new SUV of that other Italian luxury car manufacturer, Lamborghini. Their premium and progressive 2018 Lamborghini Urus is yet to be revealed, but has the hopes high, and if it’s going to look anything like its concept, then the Stelvio is in for a treat.

Interior design

The interior of the 2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio also borrows the lion’s share from the Giulia. Like in the Giulia the Stelvio’s dashboard is topped by Alcantara synthetic, with a carbon fiber middle part and a lower segment wrapped in leather. Also, the center console, steering wheels and air conditioning vents are an exact copy of those in the Giulia.

In the steering wheel the Formula One reminiscents returns, with a three thin spoke wheel and sturdy handling. It also features a red button for starting the engine, something taken straight from the world’s fastest racing cars.

The instrument cluster is a seven inch screen and there’s a 6.5 inch, or 8.8 inch for the Ti and Quadrifoglio trims, infotainment screen on the center stack.

The front seats are a sports type and come in leather and Alcantara on all trims.sports front seats in leather and Alcantara with 12-way power and adjustable thigh support.

Optional on the Stelvio and standard on the Quadrifoglio is the Harman Kardon Premium Audio System. The Sound Theatre system offers a 900 watts amplifier and 14 speakers throughout the cabin.

Engine specs

The 2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio and Stelvio Ti models will be equipped with a fully aluminium 2.0 liter engine, designed specifically for Alfa Romeo. The engine is turbocharged and intercooled and delivers 280 horsepower, while retaining high fuel efficiency levels.

The 2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio will be equipped with the 505 horsepower 2.9 liter bi-turbo V6 engine we’ve seen before in the 2017 Giulia Q. The V6 is also fully created from aluminium (meaning extra lightweight) and also offers direct injection.

The Stelvio Q features a state of the art Cylinder Efficient Management deactivation system. This allows the engine to run on three of its six cylinders when all that power isn’t needed. This adds majorly to fuel-efficiency and emission numbers.

All trims and engines come standard with the intelligent Q4 All Wheel Drive system. This system also makes use of torque vectoring to optimize torque delivery to each wheel separately. A really nice gimmick and very useful when driving in more difficult road conditions, such as muddy or icy roads. The first is probably not something Alfa Romeo drivers plan to encounter, but icy or slippery roads are more likely to appear some time. For these situations the torque vectoring is perfect.

Tech specs

The tech department of the 2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio is bursting at the seams. To start off, the infotainment system shows the car’s performance info, telemetry data and 3D graphic navigation. On top of that there’s Apple Car Play and Android Auto connectivity.

The 2018 Stelvio also offers the Alfa Romeo DNA Drive Mode system. The settings are Dynamic, Natural and Advanced Efficiency on the Stelvio and Stelvio Ti. The Quadrifoglio also gets the setting Race, to make most of the 505 HP V6 engine.

The safety features of the Stelvio also add to the ultimate luxury this car represents. There is full speed Forward Collision Warning with autonomous braking until full stop, if necessary. Adaptive Cruise Control with full stop makes sure the car maintains a safe distance from the car ahead. Also, it can come to a complete halt without the driver interfering, under certain traffic conditions.